The New Galtean Empire
by Saigecraze003
Summary: Lance is the heir to the Altean throne. His father sets up an arranged marriage for him and Prince Lotor, the soon-to-be ruler of the Galra empire, in order to unite the two kingdoms. But things don't go as planned when Lance meets Keith, Lotor's personal servant.
1. Chapter 1

The New Galtean Empire ~ Chapter 1- Arranged Marriage

Lance stretched and got out of bed. Today was an imporant day, so he had to get up early to make sure he would look his best. He walked over to his jewled

full-length mirror. He admired his reflection before going over to his closet to pick out his nicest Altean attire. He usually preferred something more casual and

comfortable, but his father insisted he wore his dressy clothes. Although he wasn't particularly thrilled about the day's events, he wouldn't dare go against his

father's wishes. After he was dressed, he went back in view of the mirror. He put on some blue earrings and golden wrist bands. One he was happy with his appearence,

he left the room and headed down the stairs into the dining room, where his father and twin sister Allura were already waiting.

"Why must you always be late to breakfast Lance? We've been waiting for fifteen dobashes already." Allura was already making an annoyed face at him. Lance

rolled his eyes at her,

"And why must you always scold me on minor things?" He crossed his arms.

"Lance you sister is right. If you are to be king, you musn't be late." Their father joined the conversation, avoiding anymore bickering.

"But father, it's just breakfast." Lance whined.

"Yes but next time it could be a crucial royal meeting. You need to man up and be more mature. That whiny attitude will get you nowhere." Lance didn't respond,

he already wasn't in a good mood, so he really didn't feel like arguing anymore, he always lost the arguments anywhere. He plopped down in the seat across from his

sister and waited for breafast to be served. If anything, food was one thing he could always count on.

"Are you ready to meet your future husband?" Allura smiled sweetly at Lance. He didn't respond immediatley and took a bite out of the stack of juniberry

pancakes now sitting in front of him.

"I mean, as excited as someone being forced to marry a stranger against his will could be." He answered, obviously annoyed.

"Oh not this again, Lance you know this is important." Their father spoke up.

"I just don't understand, why do i have to marry him? Isn't their anyway to unite the two kingdoms besides marriage?" He took another large bite of pancake.

The king glared at him and didn't answer, which was basically his way of telling Lance to drop the topic. After breakfast, Lance went back up to his room and layed

on the bed, staring up at his intricately painted celing. He had never been in love before, since his father was very careful about letting him out of the castle,

afraid he would fall for a commoner. Ever since he was a child, Lance had always sworn he would only marry for love, but now it seemed he didn't have that option

available anymore. He sighed and looked over at his digital clock, in only a few vargas, he would meet the man his father arranged him to marry, the prince of the

Galra Empire, Prince Lotor.

"Welcome to the planet Altea." The king shook hands with the Emperor of the Galra, Zarkon. He sat back down in is thrown. Zarkon kissed Allura's hand before

shaking hands with Lance.

"It's a pleasure to meet my future son-in-law." He smiled. Lance faked a smiled best he could, but as soon as Zarkon walked away, Lance returned to his

posistion of leaning on the arm of his throne in boredom. Zarkon took a seat at the far end of the room.

"Now welcoming, Prince Lotor!" The large doors opened once again. A tall galran man enetered the room. He had a look of confidence to him. He had long white

hair and blue eyes. He was good looking, Lance had to admit. Someone else also entered the room behind the Galran Prince. Lance sat up as he noticed the younger Galran

that came in. He had long dark hair and even darker eyes. What was really intriguing about him was, that he had pale skin. It wasn't purple like the other Galra, but

he still had the other features of the Galra. His pale skin slowly faded into purple fuzzy ears, and he had the yellow tint to his eyes popular to the Galra.

"Lance, Lance!" Allura poked her brother in the arm, pulling him from his thoughts.

"Hm?" Lance suddenly noticed the silence hanging over the room. Allura whispered something to her father who rolled his eyes before speaking up,

"Let me introdunce, Prince Lance of Altea." He said before silently apologizing to Zarkon.

"Oh!" Lance was hit with the realization that he was supposed to speak.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Lotor." He stood up and bowed before Lotor before returning to his seat. He tried to stay focused but his eyes defied him

and once again locked onto the mysterious dark haired Galran who was now walking across the room to stand next to Zarkon.

"If i may ask.." Lance knew nothing good could come from asking but he couldn't help himself.

"Who is the dark haired Galra who followed you in?" Lance looked at Lotor and smiled, trying to look mature.

"Oh him?" Lotor laughed a bit,

"That is my personal servant Keith."

"Ah, well it was a pleasure meeting you both." Lance smiled quickly at Keith before nodding in Lotor's direction. Zarkon left the room, with Lotor close

behind. Keith glanced up at the tanned skin Altean Prince. He caught his gaze and felt his cheeks heat up slightly.

"Keith!" Lotor called for Keith, who startled, hurriedly left the room after Lotor. Lance never took his eyes off Keith as he left the room. The king got up

quickly and stood in front of Lance, blocking his view of the door.

"What was that?" He practically scared Lance out of his seat with his tone.

"What?" Lance replied, sounding both confused and offended.

"I saw you staring at that servant the whole time." Lanced felt himself turn slightly pinker at the mention of Keith.

"No i was-"

"Silence. You are not to get distracted by any servant. Lotor is your husband-to-be, and you are sadly mistaken if you think that is going to change." The king

quickly left the room before Lance had a chance to respond. Lance slumped down in his chair and sighed deeply.

"Hey, i'm sorry about that." Allura turned to face him.

"About what?" Lance turned to her curiously.

"About what father said. I can see it in your eyes, you don't feel for the Galran Prince, but his servant seemed to have caught your attention." She replied

with what appeared to be a pitied expression.

"I don't know if i feel that way about the servant, i just met him. But even if i did, it's not like it matters, father forbids me from 'getting distracted'".

Lance rested his chin in his hand.

"I personally, found the Galran Prince quite appealing. I would be completley content if it was i that was marrying him." Lance looked at his sister and raised

his eyebrows at her.

"What?" She asked, clearly noticing the look he was giving her.

"Nothing." Lance laughed it off and got up before the conversation could continue.

"Night sis." He waved at her before heading back up to his chamber. The door slid closed behind him and he quickly changed back into his comfortable clothes

before curling up under his silk sheets. He turned off the light and made an attempt to go to sleep. His mind was wandering everywhere, but the image of Keith was

the one thing he couldn't get off his mind.


	2. Chapter 2

The New Galtean Empire ~ Chapter 2- Secret Meetings

Lance turned to face his clock, it was the middle of the night, everyone was asleep but him. He groaned and shoved his face into his pillow. He kept having these

thoughts run around his head, no matter what he couldn't get to sleep for more than an hour at once. The Galra, Keith, flooded his mind as his brain tried to once

again create a clear image of him. He shook his head and quietly got out of bed. He decided that he wasn't going to get any sleep, so he might as well get some air.

He opened his door quietly and walked down the hall as stealthily as he could to the balcony. He opened the balcony door and felt the cool breeze hit his face. He

took a deep breath and leaned against the beautifully carved railing that overlooked the rest of suburban Altea. He closed his eyes and let the gentle breeze surround

him. He then heard footsteps, to which he quickly jerked up and turned around, but who he saw was definitely not who he expected. Standing now on the balcony, was

Keith.

"S-sorry for startling you, your highness." Keith bowed awkwardly. Lance was practically frozen in place, he realized this was the first time he's heard Keith

speak. He shook his head and was brought back to reality at the beautiful Galran now looking up at him in his kneeled position.

"Ohmygoodness no don't apologize! It's fine! Here," Lance held his hand out to Keith. Keith looked at Lance's hand, then up to his face, before cautiously

taking his hand and standing up. When their hands touched, Lance felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach, he tried to focus on functioning like a proper

Altean and only after he pulled away from his thoughts did he realize that he was still holding Keith's hand, and it was quite awkward. He glanced down at their

hands before dropping his and laughing nervously.

"Your highness, are you alright? You seem a little lost in thought." Keith seemed unphased by Lance's sudden movement.

"Lance, call me Lance. Yes thank you i am okay, just a little tired is all." Lance smiled cheerfully.

"Well I have to go to my room now, Lotor wants me to get a certain amount of sleep so i can be fully awake in the morning." Keith laughed. Hearing him laugh

made Lance feel all warm inside.

"Okay, well it was nice to meet you Keith." Lance waved eagerly.

"You too your hig- i mean uh Lance." Keith bowed quickly before leaving through the glass doors, Lance stood alone once again on the balcony. He rested his

chin in his hand and looked out once again. He noticed that the strange feeling disappeared moments after Keith had left. 'What is this feeling and why do i only

feel this way around Keith. He took a deep breath as the realization hit him, 'Is this what love feels like?'

There was exactly one month left before the wedding, and for the next week, Lance and Keith continued their late night talks on the balcony, and the more they

talked, the more and more Lance was sure of his true feelings for the Galran boy.

"Hey Lancey why do you keep sneaking out so late every night?" Allura stood outside Lance's door as he was about to leave for his routine meetup with Keith.

"Okay first of all, I told you to stop calling me that. Second, how long have you known about me sneaking out?" Lance whispered violently at his sister.

She crossed her arms,

"You aren't exactly stealthy. I could hear you footsteps walk by my door at the same time each night, I knew something was up. You are lucky father is a

heavy sleeper. So what are you doing?" She walked toward him until he had backed into the wall, destroying his hope of keeping his secret. The Altean sighed in

surrender,

"Fine fine, I'm going to the balcony to meet up with Keith." He threw his hands in the air.

"Keith?" Allura had no look of recognition on her face at the name,

"Sorry who is Keith?" Lance blushed a bit at the whole secrecy of their new friendship and his feelings.

"Prince Lotor's personal servant." He couldn't keep himself from smiling.

"Oh that Galran boy from the throne room? The one you were staring at the entire time?" She laughed.

"Wha- hey!" He turned a darker shade of red. But the embarrassed expression quickly faded to something else.

"So what brings you out here so late every night?" Lance asked Keith one night on the balcony.

"You are always here when I come out." Lance saw Keith's face turn slightly pink before turning to look at him.

"Well a couple nights ago, when we talked for the first time, it was by chance. I go out there sometimes... to think. But the couple nights after I started

coming here on purpose because... I like talking to you." Keith looked back away from Lance who turned pinker than Keith at the words. He smiled to himself, but

that smiled faded as Keith turned to him with a look of sadness on his face,

"But Prince Lotor found out about our meetings last night as i was heading back to my room. He's worried that we are getting too close, he said that tonight

must be our last meeting before the wedding." Lance felt a new feeling in his stomach, but it wasn't a good one this time. As time went on, he dreaded the wedding

more and more. He knew he liked Keith, somehow he would get out of the marriage.

"I don't want to." Lance said into the open air.

"I don't want to stop them either but his reasons are underst-"

"No, i mean i don't want to marry Prince Lotor." Lance looked Keith right in the eyes. The expression on his face was one of both shock and hope.

"W-why not?" He asked shakily. Lance took hold of Keith's hands,

"I don't love him Keith. I've felt what love is now, but it's not with him."

"It doesn't matter if i was staring at him or if I like him or anything, I'm getting married to Prince Lotor in less than a month, so don't get any ideas."

He looked down at his feet. Allura could tell he was unhappy.

"Aw baby brother.." She pulled Lance into a hug.

"You are only one minute older 'Llura." He said, yet not sounding the least bit annoyed as he welcomed the hug.


	3. Chapter 3

The New Galtean Empire ~ Chapter 3- Consequences/The Plan

Lance entered his father's large throne room. He walked up slowly, nervously. His father had called for him, but he sounded furious. The look on his father's

face made him worry most of all. As he walked in he noticed Allura was seated in her throne beside their father, with an apologetic look on her face. As he approached

his father, Lance saw out of the corner or his eye, Allura mouthed what looked like 'I'm sorry'.

"You called father?" Lance said shakily.

"Allura has told me that despite what I've told you, that you've been sneaking out at night to speak to that servant Galran boy." The way he spoke about Keith

made Lance pull his hands into tight fists. He turned to Allura,

"Why would you do that!" His eyes were full of anger and sadness.

"Don't bring her into this son. I told you once and I'm not going to tell you again, stay away from that boy. You have an arranged marriage that you are going

to go through with, no matter what. I can't have you hanging around with the lower class."

"Father you never even asked me what I wanted! Why don't i have a say in this! I don't want to marry Prince Lotor!"

"Silence!" The king stood up and loomed over Lance.

"These were the terms we agreed on son, I will not have you backing out of the agreement. The wedding has been moved to next week to avoid anymore problems,

and i ordered a guard to stand watch by your door at all times, to keep you from seeing him." He sat back down.

"But-"-

"No buts, you are dismissed." He gestured for Lance to leave, and he did without another word, practically running to his room, he sat down on the edge of his

bed, with his face in his hands. His eyes burned and tears fell down his tanned face, turning red. He stared up at the ceiling, hugging his knees close to his chest.

He was finally happy, he finally felt love for the first time, and now his father was taking that away from him. He shoved his face into his pillow, and covered

himself with the silk bedspread.

Allura knocked on the door,

"Go away!"

"Lancey, it's me."

"Stop calling me that and leave me alone! You sold me out!"

"I'm sorry, please let me explain." There was no response. Allura took that as the okay to come in, and opened the door. She didn't see Lance at first, but

saw where he was due to the large lump of blanket raised in the middle of the bed. She sat down on the edge and shook the lump lightly,

"I said leave me alone Allura." Lance mumbled.

"Just give me five minutes to explain what happened, please?" Lance pulled the covers off his head and sat cross-legged on the bed across from Allura. His face

was red from tears and his hair looked messy and stuck out strangely.

"I'm listening." He crossed his arms.

"Look, this doesn't only effect you. He found out about my feelings too." The anger left Lance's expression,

"What are you talking about?" He uncrossed his arms.

"My feelings for the Prince." She looked Lance right in the eyes.

"You... like Prince Lotor?" Lance's eyes were filled with shock. She nodded her head.

"I do." She blushed.

"But why... what does that have anything to do with why you told father about Keith?" Allura took her brother's hands in hers,

"Because I told father how i felt, and he said i could never rule, because i was a girl, and that it didn't matter that i liked him because you were already

going to marry him. So out of anger, i yelled that you didn't even want to marry him, and that you liked Keith and were hanging out with him, I'm sorry." Allura

now had a single tear falling down her face. Any trace of anger was gone from Lance's face.

"Oh 'Llura I'm sorry i was so mad at you, I didn't know how you felt." Lance wrapped his arms around his sister.

"No no, it's okay. I still messed things up for you and Keith that's unforgivable." She wiped her eyes with her sleeve.

"'Llura, we're going to fix this, for both of us. I don't know how, but we can do it, together." Lance smiled at Allura.

"But there is only one week left until your wedding, how are we going to stop it?" There was a look of defeat on her face.

"Well, I think if we can make the prince fall for you then maybe he'll want to stop the wedding?" Lance suggested.

"What about Keith? There is a guard that keeps you from seeing him."

"Honestly, I didn't really think of that, but if we can stop the wedding, we'll have time to figure it out." Allura nodded and smiled,

"Okay, thank you Lancey." She hugged him tightly.

"You'll never give up that nickname will you?" Lance laughed.

"Not a chance." Allura smiled into his embrace.

"Why is she here?" The king asked of Lance while looking at Allura.

"She wanted to be part of the meeting, as princess, it's her duty to be informed of what's happening in the kingdom too." Allura nodded.

"Fine fine, sit down." The kings of both empires sat across from each other. Next to the Galran king sat Lotor, who Allura sat across from. Lance's heartbeat

quickened when he saw that Keith was there too, next to Lotor. Lance took a seat next to his sister. Their father stood up,

"Today's royal meeting is to discuss wedding preparations." Lance's heart sunk a little. However he kept a straight face. He glanced at Keith, who also seemed

to be upset by the news.

"As you all know, the wedding was moved to next week, so we don't have much prep time. I've already placed an order for the décor and food. I will need your

help with setting everything up in the rooms for each part of the service..." The king continued to talk, but Lance was no longer paying attention, and he saw Allura

looking at Lotor and knew she wasn't paying attention either. She smiled at Lotor when he looked at her, and he visibly blushed a little and smiled back. Lance was

happy for her, things were going well. If they kept this up, the wedding would be stopped in time.

"Thank you all for coming to this meeting, dismissed." The king got up and left, followed by the Galran king.

"Keith, could you give us a moment?" Lotor glanced at Allura before turning his attention to his servant. Keith nodded and left, Lance chose to follow him.

"Keith wait!" Lance whispered loudly. The boy turned at the sound of the prince's voice.

"Lance?! What are you doing, we are going to get in trouble." Keith's voice was hushed and worried. Lance looked around,

"Here, follow me." Lance lead Keith to one of the many large closets along the corridor hall. He closed the door quietly and turned on the light.

"Okay we can talk freely now." Lance said, no longer whispering. Keith nodded in understanding,

"Okay, so what did you want to say?" He looked at the prince hopefully.

"I have a plan, to stop the wedding."


End file.
